When All Seems Dark
by Believe-in-Teyla
Summary: People had believed that the tragedy and destruction had ended. It was as Hermione Granger sat in a tiny prison cell that she considered just how wrong those people had been. And then Draco Malfoy turned up. Post DH/sans epilogue.
1. Company

**_Author Notes: This was a drabble that turned into a chaptered story. Yes, I couldn't quite believe it either. I'm going to be a busy girl juggling this, "Blind" and the many drable I still have in my head. _**

**_I'm sorry for the chapter-shortness. I'm hoping that as I write it'll get longer._**

**Chapter One**

People had believed that the end of the second war and the ultimate downfall of Lord Voldemort would have meant the end of tragedy and destruction. It was as Hermione Granger sat in a tiny prison cell on the outskirts of an old Irish farming village that she considered just how wrong those people had been.

A total of three Death Eaters had managed to avoid arrest; no one, not even those who had been involved in the trial understood how they had managed, but how they did it didn't matter anymore as they had avoided punishment and then wasted no time in avenging the Dark Lord.

Sudden darkness engulfed the cell where Hermione sat and she waited breathlessly for a sign of what might be inflicted upon her next. However, after a moment she heard only a dull thump against the concrete. Light returned as the cell door was swung shut and securely locked with five large muggle padlocks and a powerful locking charm that, according to her captors, was only able to be undone by the captors themselves.

Hermione looked around and her eyes landed on the object the Death Eater had thrown in. She was surprised to find it was a man dressed in a black cloak, which covered the entirety of his unconscious body. A lump formed in her throat as she realised that they must have run out of empty cells if they were suddenly giving her company. Knowing that the prison would be a large one, this brought no comfort to her at all.

Crawling forward on her hands and knees, she pulled the cloak away from the man's face, gasping as the pale face appeared before her, the man's silver blonde hair messy on his head.

"Malfoy?" she gasped and she went to work checking that he wasn't seriously injured.

His heartbeat was steady and his pale skin contains only a collection of scratches, none too deep for her to be worrying about. She made to shake him awake when he suddenly let out a groan and she sat back slightly as he moved his head to the side, facing her.

Slowly his eyes opened and Hermione was staring into the steel grey eyes cautiously.

"Granger?" he said trying to sit up. Hermione instantly put a hand on his shoulder to hold him down; she knew how bad it was first waking up after being hit with one of the Death Eater's stunning spells. "What happened?"

"They captured you obviously," Hermione said stiffly. "It'll be a while before you can sit up. We don't want you feeling worse than you're going to.

"Who are _they_, Granger?" Draco snarled and Hermione had to admire his ability to spiteful even in an event such as this.

"The Death Eaters," Hermione stated simply. "Nott, Davis and Stint."

"Right," Draco scowled in recognition, scanning his eyes over her as she got up and went back to her seat against the wall. "Don't they feed you here, Granger? There's nothing left of you..."

Hermione looked down at her own figure and held back a sob. "They feed me only at night. Other prisoners get better treatment but as I am …"

"A mudblood?" Draco helped, smirking.

Hermione's head snapped up to look at him. "I was going to say one of Harry Potter's friends but if you _insist_, Malfoy…"

"Where is Potter anyway?" Draco snarled, sitting up and giving a great wince as a wave of dizziness and pain overwhelmed him. He scanned the cell as though expecting Harry's head to merrily appear in midair.

Hermione was silent for a long moment, tears forming in her eyes.

"Granger?" Draco prodded attentively, feeling a small lump form in his throat.

Hermione looked up and into his eyes, not blinking. "Last I knew he was in hiding."

Draco chuckled hesitantly at that. "Since when did Potter hide and let a war brew up around him?"

Hermione smiled slightly, tears slowly flowing. "Never. That's what I'm afraid of."

"Is Weasley with him?" Draco asked, rubbing at his temples and not looking at her.

Hermione broke down completely at this and when she did not respond to him with words he did not insist on an answer; he knew that these tears could not be good.

Draco stood as Hermione calmed herself down. He still felt a lot of pain in his joints and his head was pounding as though it had been run over by the Hogwarts Express. He walked once around the cell, looking through the tiny window in the left wall; it showed an unfamiliar man of about 30.

"He's not very talkative," Hermione sniffed. "I imagine he'd be quite unpleasant to share a cell with."

"I spent my whole school career hating you; I would never have wanted to share one with you either, Granger."

They glared at each other for a moment.

"Perhaps that's why they put you here," Hermione suggested, not biting back at his comment as she stared at the window calmly.

"Perhaps," Draco drawled. "What I want to know is why they haven't killed you yet."

Hermione smiled bitterly. "They believe I can help them: Giving them information, helping them tracking down the Order, baiting Harry here … giving them pleasure."

"Pleasure?" Draco grimaced. "They don't –"

"They torture me," Hermione muttered quietly.

Draco stared at her with a strange expression. "How many times?"

Hermione gave a tiny chuckle. "Too many to count; three times they did it with similar ferocity as your aunt did that night at your manor."

Draco said nothing and sat against the wall with the window. Silence filled the cell and Hermione avoided his gaze. She was pleased that he was not torturing her with the insults he had always sent her at school; perhaps he was sensible enough to realise that fighting would not help them in the current situation, or perhaps he was still in too much pain to do so. Either way, she was pleased.

"When's the food coming?" he asked her suddenly, lying down on his back on the cold, damp concrete, staring up at the low ceiling.

Hermione looked at him. "It came before you arrived."

Draco cursed under his breath, but a couple of minutes later heavy breathing filled the tiny space, indicating his sleeping form. Hermione sighed and lay down herself, hoping that this night would not be as cold as the last.


	2. Explanations

**Chapter Two**

The morning dawned with Draco eating a piece of stale bread. Hermione remained seated against her wall as a faceless man stared into their cell until Draco had finished his last bite. As he finished, he shot her a glance but looked away quickly.

"Are all the meals like that?" he asked, resting his head back against the wall and closing his eyes.

"They usually serve cold soup or stew for dinner," Hermione said quietly. "It's never enough to satisfy the hunger but it's something. They at least allow us water four times a day."

Hermione could feel his eyes watching her as she finished this sentence but she did not turn to look at him.

"How long have you been here, Granger?"

"Ron and I were two of the first to be captured," she said grimly, biting her lip in an attempt to fight against the anguish that overwhelmed her. "Harry went into hiding shortly after McGonagall was found dead. Ron and I were captured about a week after that. That must have been months ago."

"Where's he?" Draco asked. "Where's Weasley?"

Hermione let a tear slip from her eye and looked at Draco with sorrow written on every corner of her face. "He was merely a prisoner like me for a couple of weeks but we wouldn't talk so they tortured Ron in front of me, hoping one of us would give in. We didn't; we couldn't. We didn't know the answers to any of their questions. They tortured him until he was -" She broke off as she tried to swallow down the grief.

"Dead?" Draco queried lightly.

Hermione gave a shaky nod and lost the fight against her tears. She broke down once more.

Draco remained silent, not looking at her and not knowing what to think or what to feel. This moment was followed by hours of boredom passed for Draco as he watched as Hermione cried herself into slumber. Her head rested awkwardly on the concrete floor, her breathing steady and her cheeks flushed from her misery. He found it hard to communicate with her under such situations. He had never treated her nicely in the past and it was only since Lord Voldemort's death that they had grown to tolerate the other's presence. But even then they had never exchanged kind words.

The situation was ultimately surreal to him. He could barely remember being captured, though his headache helped him very little. He remembered waking to the feeling of Hermione's fingers on the pulse point in his neck followed by her tiny sigh of relief when she realised he was okay. When he'd seen it was her, he had felt the need to fall into his old ways; he certainly did not welcome her being his only company.

From her spot across from him he heard her groan and looked over in question as she lifted herself up and rubbed her neck. She looked over at Draco and narrowed her eyes.

"Go on, have your laugh Malfoy," she hissed. "You know in your mind that it's only a matter of time before they supply _you_ with a pillow."

Draco raised an eyebrow; she must have had a good sleep if she found the ability to talk to him in such a manner.

"Why do you suppose they would reward me such a privilege, Granger?" he drawled.

"You've got the Dark Mark haven't you?" she hissed. "You were a Death Eater."

Draco leaned forward menacingly. "My family betrayed the Dark Lord as you should remember, Granger. If you think that some low-ranked Death Eaters would forgive us for that than you are unfortunately mistaken. If my mother hadn't lied about Potter being dead than the Dark Lord would never have died at the hands of Potter, would he?"

Hermione starred at him blankly. "You think that makes you equal to me? They actually _fed_ you this morning, Malfoy!"

Draco looked uncertain for a moment. "This is about food?"

Hermione looked down at the ground, her expression relaxing. "This is about differences, Malfoy."

"You and I are more alike than you might want to assume, Granger," Draco sneered. "We both have pasts that warrant these Death Eaters to want us dead."

Hermione was quiet before she grabbed a small rock from the ground beside her and unconsciously scrapped it against the concrete floor.

"How much do you know about them?" she questioned. "I know who Nott is but the other two…"

"Davis and Stint were outside Death Eaters," Draco explained, sitting back and watching Hermione with a wary eye as draw carelessly on the pavement with the stone as though it were chalk. "They weren't branded with the Dark Mark until only weeks remained of the Dark Lord's life. They were outsiders. My father thought they were not worthy of the Mark but the Dark Lord cared little; he needed all his followers to stay loyal at such a crucial time. He branded nearly all his lower men.

"After the first disappearances and the identity of these two Death Eaters was revealed to our world, people made a lot of assumptions as to how they avoided Azkaban, why they were now reigning terror as the Dark Lord had done," Draco continued spitefully. "In their trials they had said that they had been forced by the Dark Lord, bullied into following him and more than half of the Wizengomot stupidly believed them."

"What about Nott?" Hermione whispered, drawing her eyes up to look at him. "He's been a known Death Eater for nearly two decades –"

"It's not the same Nott, Granger," Draco declared, leaning his head back against the wall in irritation. "It's Theodore Nott who we went to school with."

Hermione looked at Draco with her mouth formed into a small 'o'.

"The other Nott is dead," Draco said, looking away.

Silence filled the cell as Hermione stood and headed to the small barred door that was the only entrance into the tiny space. She gripped the bars steadily and drew out a deep breath.

"What's it like out there?"

She heard Draco struggle behind her as he too made to stand.

"Several witches and wizards go missing every day," Draco stated confidently. "Muggles are being found dead in their beds... Mudbloods are being tortured on street corners. People are going slowly moving into hiding."

"It's Voldemort all over again…" Hermione whispered solemnly .

Draco kicked the door with his shoe, startling Hermione and causing her to turn on the spot, eyes wild and murderous as she glared at him.

"What was that for?!" she shrieked.

Draco just smirked. "I was just seeing how much force it would take for it to open."

"I've been in here for _months_!" Hermione hissed. "What makes you assume that I haven't already tried prying open the door?"

Draco's smirk broadened. "I've known you for years, Granger," he drawled. "Even in a healthy state you had to ask Potter to open your Potion Ingredients Jars for you."

Hermione stood up straighter, her nose in the air slightly. "I assure you that I do not need your help, Malfoy."

Draco gave a chuckle that resulted in a swift kick to the back of his knee.

**_Author Note: I am sorry for the short chapters. All the drabble writing has altered my style, but I'm working on it! Please forgive me!_**

**_I hope you enjoyed!?_**


	3. Musings

**_Author Note: I wasn't going to post this chapter until chapter 3 of "Blind" had undergone some major editing (i'm having some issues getting it right at the moment). However, I thought I'd post this one now in celebration of reaching 100 reviews (not all for the same story sadly). It's hard to believe that of the 18 pieces of fanfiction I have posted here on , I have received a total of 100 reviews without receiving any bad ones. My most recent, however (104th), was a different story but still not BAD as such. More trivial than anything... _**

**_Anyway - enjoy!!_**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Draco glared menacingly down on Hermione, trying to ignore the throb in the back of his knee.

"I hardly deserved that, Mudblood," he snarled.

Hermione slapped his face. "If we are going to live together in the tiny confines of this cell you might really want to watch that mouth of yours, Malfoy!"

"I will if you watch where you're swinging your foot!" Draco sneered, looking murderous.

Hermione chuckled darkly. "If you haven't noticed, Malfoy, I am not within reach of a wand," she said. "If you prefer to have me patiently wait until I have one in hand before I hurt you than I'm afraid your life is looking somewhat shorter than it had this morning."

Something flickered in Malfoy's eyes. "I don't like you, Granger."

"Believe me," Hermione scoffed. "The feeling is mutual. However, if you plan on getting out of here with all your limbs I would advise that you make this little holiday of ours as pleasant as possible."

Draco looked at her with loathing. "I hardly call your company a holiday, Granger."

Hermione smiled vehemently. "Would you prefer me to give Nott the whereabouts of your dear madam Pansy so he can torture and kill her?"

"Parkinson?" Draco spat. "I haven't had anything to do with her since Sixth year!"

Hermione's expression faltered. "But I read in _The Daily Prophet_ that you were engaged to marry –"

"_Astoria Greengrass_," Draco said pointedly.

Hermione's mouth opened slightly, as though she contemplated saying something. She closed it again; Draco could only assume she was suffering some shock.

"I will give you some credit, Granger," Draco said, turning away. "I was betrothed to Parkinson during school but after the war, father made arrangements with Astoria's family instead. Something about making more suitable grandchildren."

Hermione was quiet for a moment. "Do you love her?"

Draco stared at her incredulously. "How is that your business, Granger?"

Hermione shook her head and looked down at her feet. "It's not. Sorry I asked."

She sunk down on the ground near the cell door, depressed. Never in her life had she experienced such misery – it was so hard to believe that somewhere out there people might be happy. When Draco had turned up, she had had some selfish thoughts, thoughts that he wasn't leaving a happy life; that she would suffer in here more than he would. She had never considered that he might have someone he was missing.

"Where is Astoria now?" Hermione asked quietly, not looking at him.

Draco was quiet a moment. "My father told me to send her into hiding two weeks ago."

"Why didn't you go yourself?"

Draco laughed. "They would have found me no matter where I went; the Dark Mark has many properties, Granger."

"Oh." Hermione fell silent again, just as the rest of the cell did.

They both looked up slightly when they heard someone, several cells down, screaming for mercy. Hermione felt a sickening rock fall to the pit of her stomach, and she prayed that tonight they would leave her to heal.

She felt Draco's eyes on her but she did not force her eyes to look at him. She merely lay down on the freezing ground.

"I hope they provide blankets tonight," she whispered, feeling the chill of the pavement seep through the thin fabric of the clothes they had provided her with.

Draco did not respond to her and she wondered if maybe he was angry with her. She would not be surprised; he had always seemed to become angry at her so suddenly and completely that it seemed to have become second nature. However, the idea that he was angry and unwilling to speak to her caused a slightly panicked lump to form in her throat.

She had been in this cell for so long without company and without news of the outside world that his appearance had caused something in her to stir; she could only assume that it was hope. Before his appearance she had been a miserable wreck; when she wasn't sleeping she was weeping, when she alone at night she would be panicked, when they tortured her she had prayed that life would soon leave her.

It was at his appearance that she had suddenly felt more comfortable in her surroundings. Hearing news of the world outside had soothed her, even if it had scared her. His words, although at times harsh, kept her from her misery.

Hermione had started shivering violently against the floor, though it wasn't entirely from cold. A single tear fell from her eye and traveled down the side of her face to land just south of her ear.

"Merlin Granger," Draco sneered, watching her tremble. "Are you insane?"

He hurried forward and pulled her into a sitting position. She continued to shake violently as wave after wave of emotion rose to the surface.

"That floor is freezing Granger!" he hissed, assuming that there was only one reason behind her condition. "Do yourself a favour and find a slightly less icy place to sleep."

"Wh-Where though?" Hermione said through quivering teeth and lips. "There are no beds, no blankets. Just walls and an icy floor."

"Than lean against the wall," Draco advised. He pulled her roughly along the cement until she was completely against the wall. He looked at her carefully. "Will dinner be here soon?"

Hermione shook her head sadly. "I never know; the days are so long. I am yet to get a sense of when dinner time actually is."

Draco nodded and sat beside her.

"I'm not going to cuddle you, Granger," he said snidely. "But I'm sure just sitting here will provide a little warmth."

His words barely registered as a moment later her head was slumped clumsily against the wall and sleep had overtaken her.

He looked away from her then and stood up. He headed for the tiny window in the left wall of the cell, where he could see the same man he had seen in there the day before. He was playing with one of the muggle padlocks that held his cell door closed.

"Having any luck there?" Draco asked bluntly.

The man turned on the spot, looking around wildly for the speaker. He looked thoroughly relieved to meet Draco's eyes.

"They killed off that Mudblood did they?" he growled, showing rotting teeth.

"Unfortunately not," Draco sneered, revolted. "I've been given the honour of being her new cellmate."

The man gave a cruel chuckle. "Fine little body on her though isn't there?" he croaked. "I wish I was given such a reward."

Draco stared at the man with disgust. "She'd hardly someone I'd want to take advantage of."

The man looked curiously at Draco's face. "Malfoy is it?" the man croaked.

Draco smirked. "A gold star to you for recognition. Now, how do you suppose we might be able to get out of here?"

The man showed his revolting teeth as he grin menacingly. "They'll be coming with food any moment now…"

"A wonderful plan," Draco stated sarcastically. "If you make it out make sure you tell my father to come free me."

"I hear that Granger's full of brains," the man snarled. "But all she wanted to do was chat about fairies with me."

Draco looked back down at Hermione as she stirred slightly. "Granger's all about books. Wouldn't happen to have a book on escaping prison strategy on you would you?"

The man limped over the window, causing Draco to retreat backwards slightly due to the stench that was elicited from him.

"Tell the Mudblood I've got three nails and a pair of rusty pliers and see what she comes up with," he said, holding up the supplies as he did so.

Draco cocked a brow and gave a short nod just as they heard someone heading towards their cells. They each retreated from the window and waited.

"Stand back you filthy mongrels," they heard a Death Eater hiss. "Stand against the back wall and don't move while we bring in supplies."

The Death Eater appeared in front of the cell's door, leering into the room with a twisted expression. Even with the dark hood and strange eye makeup Draco recognized the long greasy brown hair and the blotchy complexion.

"Why hello Theo," Draco drawled as the door swung open.

The Death Eater did not move.


	4. Questions

**Chapter Four**

Nott stared at Draco with daggers in his eyes.

"You really think you're in a position to talk to me, Malfoy?" he sneered.

Draco merely chuckled. "My being locked in a cell with Granger while you parade around giving orders makes you no more superior to me than you had been at Hogwarts," he stated smoothly, moving off the wall. "I've learnt a lot since then; I've learnt that petty influences such as yourself are hardly something to fear."

"That's a shame," Nott spat. "I was looking forward to watching you cower into my hands. It seems I have no use for you –"

He raised his wand just as Hermione jumped forward to grab it. Nott was too quick, pulling it away from her reach and accidentally sending a blast at the wall. It crumbled slightly, dust rising into the air.

Nott was the one to chuckle this time, staring at Granger with mirth.

"So the Gryffindor courage still stands after you watched her blood traitor friend scream to death," he smirked at her. "How touching."

Hermione drew herself up to full height and although she was not tall it had the effect she wanted. She stood at Nott's height. Nott twitched slightly before taking a step back. Hermione didn't move.

"Crucio!" Nott yelled and in an instant Hermione was trembling violently, blood pouring from her lip as she bit upon it, urging herself not to scream.

Draco watched, wide-eyed as she fell with a crunch to the floor; Nott lifted his wand off her and pointed it at Draco.

"Five seconds," Nott hissed with a venomous grin. "She's growing weaker. Looks like you'll have this cell to yourself soon, Malfoy..."

Nott left and shut the cell door before heading away. Draco looked down at Hermione to see blood trickling down her chin. He scowled, willing himself to feel nothing but betraying himself at the same time.

"Damn it, Granger," he grumbled, kneeling down and ripping a piece of the thin fabric from the neckline of her clothes to pressurize the wound in her lower lip. It was already purple and swollen.

He held it there a moment until it held on it's own accord. He moved his hand away and looked down at her emotionlessly.

"She used to last hours," grumbled a voice from nearby.

Draco looked up and met the eyes of the neighboring cellmate.

"She's losing strength."

"What's your name?" Draco demanded, narrowing his eyes.

"Morler," the man grumbled. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that you keep an eye on her; the strong growing weak is never a good sign in here. If she doesn't strengthen up she's be wasted within weeks."

Draco looked back down at Hermione, this throat suddenly feeling dry. He groaned.

He never thought he'd see the day when he agreed to look after Potter's know-it-all mudblood in a bid to save her life.

Morler gave a low whistle suddenly and Draco looked up with narrowed.

"It will be a shame to lose her; that body sure is fine."

Draco grimaced and leaned back against the wall away from Hermione, wishing Morler would hurry back to his padlock fumbling and leave them alone.

It took approximately three hours before Hermione came around and she groaned heavily as she sat up, the piece of fabric still stuck to wound on her lip. She blinked dozily for a moment before she seemed to become aware of it. She pulled it from her lips with a wince and looked at it before looking down at herself.

She gasped slightly at finding the large tear in her front.

"Malfoy!" she gasped, looking around wildly. Her eyes landed on him as he sat against the bars of the door. "Was my chest the only place you thought of when trying to help me?" she demanded.

Draco smirked and looked down at her, for a moment agreeing with Morler and his earlier comment. The tear he'd made to rip away the fabric for her lip was quite low, exposing a small amount of cleavage to his eyes. His smirk widened.

Despite there only being a slight peek of breast, it was showing more cleavage than he had seen her show in all the time of knowing her.

"My dearest apologies, Granger," Draco drawled. "But Morler persisted on it."

"Just because Morl –" She paused, frowning and looking at Draco carefully. "Who's Morler?" she questioned.

Draco lazily indicated the window in the left wall.

"He thinks those mudblood brains of yours might help us escape," Draco smirked. "What do you get when you have three nails and a pair of pliers?"

Hermione opened her mouth, obviously still processing what he said.

"Three nails and a pair of pliers?" she repeated. She frowned for a moment and Draco felt the lump in his throat grow in size, praying she'd have an answer.

It took only moments before Hermione's face transformed from confused to wonder, her mouth forming an 'o' shape and her eyes widening.

She hurriedly scrambled to her feet and approached the window.

"Morler," she said happily. "You are a genius!"

Draco eyebrows rose and disappeared into his disheveled hairline. "How's that, Granger?"

Hermione looked around, grinning. "Because he obviously managed to smuggle them in here!"

"How do you suppose that, Girl?" Morler sneered from the other side of the window. "That Nott left the pliers behind after fixing one of the padlocks on my cell. The nails were easy to ply out after that. Built without any care, you see. Muggles don't know the first thing about building a prison!"

"This is a Muggle prison?" Draco questioned abruptly.

Morler chuckled. "'Course it is," he said. "You think those Death Eaters can do the sort of magic that built Azkaban? Never; they found this old dump and quickly started using it for their own needs."

"How do you know?" Hermione asked him, looking at him with an expression full of confusion and curiosity.

Morler looked at her carefully for a moment. "Your the type of mudblood no wizard could hate…" he said. "You've got brains. Malfoy wouldn't have asked a question like that…"

Draco glared at the man. "How do you know about all this then?" he spat.

Morler sighed wearily. "I live in the village outside," he replied heavily. "I was kicked out of Hogwarts in sixth year for harassing a young girl. I've been working as a locksmith since."

Draco lifted a brow, looking at Hermione for some clarification. She merely stared at Morler with the utmost curiosity.

"I was the first to be shut in here," Morler continued. "The Death Eaters found me fixing one of the cell doors in the west wing. The Muggles were planning on making this dump an animal shelter."

"You're a locksmith?" Hermione repeated after a moment, eyes slightly narrowed. "Why would you need my help getting out of here? Surely you would know how to use three nails and a pair of pliers to get out of here?"

Draco snorted slightly. "Didn't you hear the part where he said he was a wizard, Granger? The Death Eaters knew that the moment they say him; they would have killed him if they believed he was Muggle!" Draco looked at Morler with some appreciation. "He was using a wand."

Morler grinned at Hermione and she sighed heavily.

"Very well then," she said lightly. "If we're going to attempt escape then we need to start by making the ends of the nails flat. We have concrete flooring so that shouldn't be too difficult, especially if the nails are as old as I'm predicting."

"What will that do to help us, Granger?" Draco asked snidely.

"If this is going to work at all, Malfoy," Hermione snapped, looking around at him, "we need to be able to fit the nails into the padlocks."

"What about that charm on the cell?" Draco drawled. "Are we just going to ply it away with the pliers?"

"I've got the charm covered," Hermione said quietly to him as Morler handed two nails through the bars on the window.

Draco took a nail from her with a frown.

She merely blinked at him and turned away.

**_Author Note: Chapter Five will be up (if all goes my way) by tomorrow. If not, then the next day. But no promises!_**


	5. Underwear

_**Author Notes:**_

_**1) I know this is later than I first stated it would be. I'm on a break from work currently and although I intended to get plenty of writing done, my little puppy had a rat poison incident and although she is going to be fine I've been anxiously watching her every move for distress just in case. But she's fine. I'm just paranoid.**_

_**2) Guess what? It's slightly longer! Go ME! **_

* * *

**Chapter Five**

She was exhausted.

Hermione sat beside Draco, slowly grazed the rusty nail against the rough flooring with one hand. They'd been doing it for hours and although they were achieving, it was happening awfully slowly.

"I thought you said this wouldn't be difficult, Granger!" Draco snarled, poking her in the leg with his nail as he wildly scraped it across the pavement.

"I said it wouldn't be _too_ difficult, Malfoy," Hermione replied with a snap, rubbing at her leg. "It's an awful lot easier with a concrete ground. We wouldn't have gotten anywhere with dirt."

Draco gave a dark mutter.

"No muttering, Malfoy," Hermione warned. "The least you can do is make this tedious activity somewhat more interesting."

"How might I do that?" Draco drawled. "I'm tired, I'm uncomfortable and I haven't eaten in over twelve hours…"

"When is your wedding?" Hermione asked with false enthusiasm.

Draco scowled. "June third," he said. "But it's unlikely to happen."

Hermione looked at him curiously, suddenly intrigued. "Why's that?"

"It dark times, Granger," Draco sneered as though the reason should have been obvious. "I'm stuck in a prison, Astoria's in hiding and she has a sex drive worthy of a manticore on heat."

Hermione let out a laugh suddenly. "What does her sex drive have to do with anything?"

Draco scowled at her. "I sent Blaise Zabini to stay with her while in hiding. The wench would have had her way with him by now."

Hermione stared uncertainly at Draco. "I doubt that," she said lightly. "If she loves you she wouldn't go out of her way to cheat."

"You're delusional if you think every relationship is based on love," Draco sneered. "Astoria Greengrass only agreed to my proposal because she knew that we would make fine children. It is the same reason I proposed in the first place."

Hermione was silent for the moment, continuing to scrape the nail across the concrete rhythmically.

"I've found myself pitying you many times in the past, Malfoy," she said sadly. "But I find that right now I pity you the most. Love is a beautiful thing and to have never felt it, to have never experienced anything like it…" She trailed off for a moment. "It's sad."

Draco rounded on her immediately. "You think I wouldn't want something more?" he sneered. "All my life I've believed that pureblood is the only way! I go out of my way to please my family! If having those beliefs means I can't experience love and loyalty than so be it! It does not make me a bad person."

"But it can," Hermione said, looking at him closely, taking in his angry face and the internal struggle that hid behind his steel grey eyes. "It was Voldemort's downfall."

"I have compassion, Granger," Draco hissed, leaning forward darkly. "I've never killed like he did! The only serious wrong I ever did was when I was trying to protect my family and myself. That does not make me equal to the Dark Lord!"

Hermione nodded sadly. "No, but you still do not allow yourself the happiness that comes from holding someone so completely in your heart."

Draco's expression changed at that. The anger disappeared to be replaced by something almost expressionless. He looked away and examined the nail in his hand.

"Did you love Weasley?" he asked quietly.

Hermione looked at him quickly, taking in his face. "Yes," she said sadly. "I still do. But it was never the type of love that keeps two people together for life. After the war we… we never reached that stage where marriage and children was inevitable."

"How are you one to talk then?" he asked bitterly.

The words hit Hermione like a stab to the chest. She looked away from him and sniffed, willing herself not to give in to the reaction that stirred within her.

"I should never have said anything at all," she whispered quietly.

"No, Granger," Draco said bluntly, standing up, "You shouldn't have. Now, tell me why is that I have not had the need to use a bathroom?"

Hermione sighed. "They are giving you the same potion they did the rest of us," she said tonelessly.

"Potion?" Draco raised his eyebrows.

"It's in the water," Hermione explained tonelessly. "It causes you to only need the loo every five days. You'll start feeling the effects soon. They'll come to escort you to a bathroom facility the day after tomorrow and you'll get a two minute wash down, five minutes on a toilet and clean clothes."

Draco said nothing as she continued to grind the nail against the pavement.

"I've heard small murmurs through the door that some people have become ill from taking the potion," Hermione said. "I'm not sure what the Death Eaters do. I wouldn't be surprised if they just let them suffer, as they used to with the women prisoners when nature came to play."

"I don't want you to elaborate about women and their natural cycle Granger," Draco said. "Just so long as I do not have to watch you suffer with embarrassment from it all."

It was Hermione's turn to be silent. Draco wouldn't have it.

"Why don't we just try to escape when these toilet trips take place?"

Hermione laughed hollowly. "Do you honestly think that they would not make sure such a thing is impossible? Malfoy, these nails are our only chance right now."

Draco sat back, watching her face skeptically.

"What if I don't agree, Granger?" Draco drawled.

Hermione looked around at him. "I don't hear you coming up with any clever plans, Malfoy! Or do you suppose we find a magical cabinet and use it to escape?"

Draco face turned hard. "You leave that out of this Granger!" he snarled harshly, eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Why should I?" she questioned. "Part of me doesn't care that you redeemed yourself after the war! You still have your foul mannerisms and beliefs! I know that in that head of yours you're praying to Merlin that I die the next time one of those Death Eaters come to visit!"

Draco stared at her. "I don't want anything of the sort!" he snarled. "In fact I planned on jumping in front of the next curse thrown at you but if you think so little of me I won't bother!"

Hermione gaped at him weakly. "Why would you do that?"

"Perhaps because I'm hardly the horrible person you think I am, Granger."

"Well don't," Hermione said gently. "I can handle it."

"You lasted only seconds just hours ago, Granger!" Draco sneered. "And I hardly want Potter to show up and find that I'd let you be killed!"

Hermione laughed. "You're afraid of Harry?"

Draco scowled darkly at her and went back to his nail.

* * *

Two days passed without the return of the Death Eaters until they appeared to take them to the bathroom facilities.

It was hardly a comforting experience for Draco. The facilities were merely a cell like the one he and Hermione were sharing. A shower stood in the corner with only a flimsy and moldy shower curtain to shield his naked form from the cell door. The toilet was very much the same.

He was provided with fresh clothing which comprised of a pair of underwear, some pajama-like pants and a tshirt, all of which were made of thin cotton and died a murky brown colour.

As he wandered back to the cell he was blindfolded, with invisible bindings around his ankles and wrists to ensure that if he escaped he wouldn't go far. Reaching the cell darkness filled the area momentarily even after the blindfold was removed. When light returned her took note of Granger's absence.

He took a seat against the wall as always, ignoring the mutterings of Morler in the next cell. He examined the ground where they had taken to filing down the nails. He and Hermione had managed to file theirs down so each were flat. Hermione had now taken to attempting the locks with them while they waited for Morler to complete his.

Draco thought back to Hermione's attitude the previous night, where she had actually told an elaborate story about Ron Weasley and a hideous necklace given to him by Lavender Brown. She had laughed so hysterically that the world had seemed suddenly surreal to them both.

Draco had even felt slightly drawn to her.

He could blame only the confines of the cell and the situation they were in.

The cell grew black again and Draco heard a sigh, indicating Hermione's returned presence. As the light returned he found her standing close by in a knee length tunic which resembled an old wheat bag with holes for arms.

She looked distressed as she sat down against the right wall, positioning her legs awkwardly in front of her.

Draco raised an eyebrow as she looked around at him, biting her lower lip and her pale cheeks turning slightly pink.

"They didn't supply me with underwear," she whispered sadly, her lower lip trembling.

Draco felt a lump form in his throat.

Despite the fact that she was Hermione Granger, his male instincts responded immediately to her words and the meaning behind them.

_Granger wasn't wearing any underwear._

Draco looked into her eyes, which were actively avoiding his. He took note of the small tear that ran gently down her cheek but it didn't prevent his eyes sneaking down to her legs and the hem of the tunic.

His own underwear felt slightly tight suddenly.

"They gave me some," Draco stated stupidly.

Hermione's wet eyes turned to look dangerously at him.

"Do you feel privileged, Malfoy?" she questioned in a deathly hiss. "Do you feel special because you're given pants and even underwear to go underneath when I am left here in nothing but a rag of a dress wearing no underwear at all?"

"Not at all," Draco smirked. "I was merely going to state that in the current circumstances you'd be better wearing these underwear than I."

Hermione's mouth dropped open. "You're going to give me your underwear?" she asked quietly.

"Why are you so surprised Granger?" Draco questioned as he stood up.

"Why would you help me in such a way?" Her tone was so light, so weak and so uncertain that it caused Draco to feel a slight unease rise within him.

"Why would I tell my own parents that I wasn't sure if it was you when I knew your face from metres away?"

Hermione merely looked at him, wishing the memories of the night in his manor to not surface. She watched uncertainly as he stood and made to pull of the cotton pants.

"Turn her head Granger," Draco smirked widely. "I hardly what you passing out by the sight and sheer size of my –"

"You're afraid my brain might overload while trying to will my eyes to see something so small?" Hermione scoffed as she turned her head to the right and stared at the blank wall.

Draco quickly went about ridding himself of the underwear. It took only moments before he flung them at Hermione's head. She winced slightly and went to turn her head to tell him off when a flash of something caught the corner her eye.

"Oh my…" she muttered and glued her eyes to the wall.

* * *

_**Author Note: I do not encourage the sharing of underwear. I do however encourage taking a peak at Draco Malfoy's assets.**_

_**Next chapter will not be far away.**_


	6. Nails

**_Author Note: Another chapter for your viewing. I hope you like!_**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

"Well then, aren't you going to put them on?"

Hermione looked around hesitantly and met Draco's eyes. She watched as his eyes narrowed at the sight of her before a smirk surfaced on his lips.

"Not so small, eh?"

Hermione mouthed wordlessly for a moment.

"That's not the point, Malfoy!"

She scooped up the underwear and without standing up she arched her back slightly, lifting her backside off the ground and quickly shimmying them on.

When she looked back at Draco he was staring at her lap blankly.

"That was one of the sexiest things I've ever seen."

Draco and Hermione whipped their heads around to see Morler's rotten grin shining through the window's bars.

"Thank you, Morler," Draco sneered. "But I'm afraid I don't lean that way…"

"You think I'm talking about you?" Morler scoffed. "I was talking about Granger and her little underwear act there."

Draco remained silent. He had also found the subtle and innocent way in which Hermione had gone about putting on the underwear somewhat sexy, though he would never admit it aloud.

"Have you finished with that nail yet?" he snarled, heading over to the window.

"Sure have," Morler replied, holding it up so he could see. "Not working much though. I gave it a go myself."

"That's because we're likely to need more than one nail to get the padlocks open," Hermione said, joining Draco. She leaned forward and placed two fingers between the bars. "That is if we're going to manage it at all. I've used screwdrivers and hair pins but…"

"I thought you were confident about this Deary?" Morler sneered, not handing over his nail.

"I'm more confident about escaping when I have three filed down nails in my hand than nothing in my hand at all," Hermione snapped. "Now give me the nail and I'll see what I can do."

"How do I know you're not just going to leave me here?" Morler questioned suspiciously.

"Why would we leave you when there's a good chance you'll start screaming for the guards as soon as we're out?" Draco snarled.

Morler considered them for a moment. He shrugged slightly before handing the nail over.

Hermione grinned at him. "Thank you!"

She moved over to the door, where she grabbed the other two nails and the pair of pliers.

"I'm going to need you to help me, Malfoy," she said, looking over her shoulder at him before turning back to the nails. She placed an end of one nail between the pliers and carefully inserted it into the lock of one of the five padlocks.

"Just say what you need me to do Granger," he said, kneeling down beside her.

"Well I first need you to listen for anyone coming our way," she relied, not taking her eyes off what she was doing. "Secondly, grab one of the nails."

Draco glared at her slightly before grabbing one of the other nails. "Now what?"

"Place it in beside mine carefully," Hermione said. "Try to keep it in line with the lock fixture…"

Draco slowly maneuvered the nail in along hers. "I've never done anything like this Granger but I'm pretty sure two straight nails in a lock will not get us out of here. You said there was a spell -"

Hermione smiled guiltily at him. "We're not muggles, Malfoy," she said quietly.

Draco looked at her with intrigue. "I know that. But how do you exactly suppose we break that heavy charm of theirs, Granger?" he drawled. "I see no wand… no magical stick… Certainly no sign of Merlin's starf…"

Hermione sighed lightly, avoiding his eyes as she fiddled slightly with the lock.

"The charm is taken care of," she said uneasily. "Trust me."

"Granger if you have found some way of getting rid of that charm then surely –"

"No, Malfoy, my taking care of that charm does not mean I am able to just break out of here with a twitch of my nose!" Hermione snapped. "All you need to know is that the charm is taken care of and that these nails are our only chance at this stage of getting out. Do not ask me any further questions on the matter! I will not give you the answers because quite frankly, I do not trust you nearly enough to do so!"

Draco watched her with intrigue for a moment. "You can do wandless magic."

It was a statement rather than a question and Hermione stopped fiddling a moment to look at him cautiously.

"Not quite," she replied in a tiny whisper. "If I could I'd be out of here by now…"

"I'm close though?"

Hermione let go of the nails and sat back on her heels.

"What I'm about to tell you needs to remain quiet," she said carefully, her voice coming out in an urgent whisper. "If those Death Eaters –"

"Granger, look at the situation we're in!" Draco sneered. "If there's a time you can entrust me with a secret as to how you're going to get us out of here it's now!"

Hermione sat silently for a moment, nervously listening for anything that might indicate someone listening in or approaching.

"About a year ago I decided that I would try to get a position in the Department of Law Enforcement," she whispered. "The position I'm looking at requires a great understanding of wandless magic as it is something that many criminals will try to achieve. Since Voldemort, the amount of minor Dark Wizards practicing the art is high so I needed to learn as much I could about it. In order to understand it better, I decided to practice it myself.

"Flitwick agreed to help me and for many months I found no achievement," Hermione continued. "However, I soon developed a small ability in the art and I have been urgently practicing that ability since."

"I knew you were smart, Granger," Draco interjected lightly, "but it takes most wizards years before they manage to achieve anything at all! My father has been practicing for as long as I can remember and he hasn't achieved anything!"

Hermione sighed lightly. "Someone like your father is most likely setting his expectation too high. I started with really simple things and the ability slowly grew. But it is still very limited. I cannot create magic out of thin air like Dumbledore or Voldemort could. For me to achieve anything at all the magic already has be there. With enough concentration I can often manage to manipulate it."

"So how did you manage to manipulate this charm?" Draco asked, eyebrow raised. "I thought it was created to only be lifted by the three of them?"

Hermione smiled blandly at that. "I only mastered it about three weeks ago. I realised that I needed to manipulate the magic as it was being cast. Unfortunately, with the magic so strong I was unable to use it to my advantage. I would try to make it work like the Alohomora charm against the padlocks but it was too powerful; the magic fought harshly against me. The magic ended diminishing.

"Every time they use the charm on this door I manipulate it," Hermione continued. "But I am still weak; I am unable to use the magic to my advantage. I can only keep trying; the Death Eaters seem to be unaware at this stage, thankfully."

"How do you know that it works?" Draco questioned curiously. "How do you know you're managing to diminish the power of the charm?"

Hermione shrugged lightly. "Part of being able to manipulate magic is by sensing it, feeling it," she said. "I feel it when it's there and I know when it's not."

Draco was silent, staring at her uncertainly. Hermione avoided his gaze until suddenly a thought struck him. "You didn't pass out because of the curse, did you?"

Hermione looked back at him and shook her head. "No," she said plainly, "I was trying to manipulate it but it is even more powerful than the locking charm. My body couldn't handle the fight."

Draco was silent as he leant forward and took hold of the two nails with the pliers.

He fiddled with them and used a very slight turning action, hoping to hear a click.

None came.

"We're unlikely to unlock them in only a matter of minutes, Malfoy," Hermione said bluntly, as though the previous conversation had not happened. She brought her hand forward and swatted his out of the way lightly. "This type of thing takes patience."

Draco withdrew his hand. "Just get us out of here by dinner, Granger."

Hermione looked at him with her eyebrows raised. "You can't be –"

"And I'd hurry up if I were you," Draco said, sitting up as he heard a distant noise. "That sounds like dinner now."

Hermione hurriedly pried the nails from the lock, stuffed them into the corner and sat down on top of them.

A moment later the cell filled with darkness and the door opened. The smell of pumpkin soup filled their nostrils and Hermione's stomach cried out in need.

Light returned and she looked around.

Near the middle of the cell sat two full bowls of a thin orange liquid but Draco was nowhere to be seen.


	7. Bargaining

**Chapter Seven**

Draco couldn't quite believe his luck…

…or his nerve for that matter.

It had been a spur of the moment decision; one moment he had been hoping above anything that the nails would work in undoing the padlocks and the next, he had been sneaking out of the cell and hiding in an alcove.

Moments later the Death Eater, who he had recognized as Davis, had walked straight passed him as though he was a piece of the wall.

Draco was surprised he was alive.

Draco had then catiously begun wandering the endless halls of the prison he had been trapped in for days. He was yet to find anything but derelict cells holding terrified people but he had managed to skulk the halls freely for nearly two hours without coming in contact with anyone.

He didn't know what had summoned him to leave the cell and Hermione. He thought fleetingly to what she might be thinking, what she might think had happened to him but he ignored such thoughts. If he found escape, he would find a means to save her and everyone else trapped within this deathly place.

Draco's feet hit the cold stone silently and quickly, though the rigid texture caused him displeasure. He scowled slightly and continued to move forward, every once in a while catching a glance at the occupants of the cells.

He, Hermione and even Morler seemed to be doing well for themselves compared to most of the other prisoners. He had caught sight of many who seemed to be very close to death, some of which he could almost presume _were_ dead.

A thick lump formed in Draco's throat and he continued on defiantly. The halls seemed to becoming narrower and darker but Draco did not know if this was merely his own illusion due to the way he currently felt.

The only light came from tiny windows in the stone, which displayed the approaching dusk outside. Every few metres small dim oil lamps hung from the ceiling but they gave off very little light. The only affect that they seemed to have was the casting of eerie shadows that caused the hairs on the back of Draco's neck to stand up on end.

Draco slowed his pace as he approached an intersection in the narrow corridor. A single open path ran to the left but to the right stood a rusty grey door that stood closed.

Draco felt his heartbeat quicken for he was not sure what he would do if someone, at that moment, turned that corner or exited through that door towards him. He felt slightly panicked but he was filled with an adrenaline too strong to turn around.

He slowly approached, keen to try the door, suspecting that if it were not an exit it would hold answers of some sort; blueprints of the prison, the Death Eaters' motives…

Reaching the door on silent feet he froze for a moment with his hand outstretched.

_It was unlocked._

The rust of the door had completely corroded the lock and the door stood open an inch.

Swallowing thickly, Draco hesitated as new thoughts entered his mind.

What if this was a trap? What if the Death Eaters had anticipated his escape? What if they wanted him to find this room?

But despite these thoughts Draco still outstretched his hand further and pushed the door open. Despite the tarnished hinges, it made no sound.

Before him was a small dingy office. The stone walls were identical to those of the cells nearby except for two items which Draco was not surprised to see: A newspaper clipping displaying an image of Lord Voldemort was tacked beside a window and a large poster of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione was attached to the wall opposite it.

What did surprise Draco, however, was the large red circle that had been drawn around Hermione's head and the large cross that distorted Weasley's face.

To Draco this could mean only one thing: they had plans that involved Hermione, plans that went beyond torturing her for information.

Draco found this unsettled him somewhat.

Turning his attention elsewhere, he took in the large desk that sat in one corner of the room. Not a single inch of the hardwood top could be seen beneath the enormous pile of paper scraps that sat upon it.

Draco looked behind him carefully before shutting the door as far as he could and approaching the pile cautiously.

On the very top sat recent issues of the _Daily Prophet_, which Draco carefully sat on the desk chair nearby before continuing to rummage.

From what he found at first, they were all articles concerning Hermione and her friends. He came across one clipping in particular showing a familiar picture of Ron Weasley and Hermione sitting below a headline of _'Heroes to Wed?'_,which was signed by Rita Skeeter. He quickly pushed it to the side to find another except this time it was one concerning himself.

'Heir Chooses Bride'

It was an article he was familiar with. It was the one his father had organized several months previous after his proposal to Astoria. What he could not understand was how it had anything to do with the Death Eaters plans. He pushed it aside to look for another.

"Why do you discard it so quickly? I found it a highly enjoyable read…"

Draco jumped back from the table slightly, an article headed _'Granger's affair' _still in his hand as he looked up at the door abruptly.

Nott stood there happily, leaning against the frame with a smirk plastered across his face.

"Here," he said, moving forward, "you might find this one more humorous…"

And with a flick of his wand, a single article came plummeting out of the pile to land contently in front of Draco. He looked down at it and the lump in his throat grew larger.

'Bride Captured and Drowned'

One glance at the image of a beautiful young woman with long dark hair and sparkling eyes told Draco all he needed to know.

_Astoria was dead._

"I'm sorry I made her death so inhumane," Nott stated proudly, his smirk growing larger. "You know I never liked her, though."

"What does all this have to do with my being here?" Draco sneered, standing up. "How are articles about my choosing a wife related to my capture, Nott?"

Nott chuckled slightly. "Take a seat Malfoy and I will eventually tell you."

Draco hesitated a moment before taking a seat in the chair opposite the one he had deposited the papers in.

Nott circled the desk, still smirking while he tidied his pile.

"You are here in this office not because you managed to escape the guards on dinner duty but because _I wanted you here_," Nott clarified. "We would normally not make it so easy for you to escape and we know you and the Mudblood have been trying. We are not dim, Malfoy. Simple exercises such as filing down rusty nails would not escape us. Or allow you to escape for that matter"

Draco narrowed his eyes. "What did you want me here for, Nott?"

Nott considered him a moment. "I wanted you here to bargain with you."

Draco had vaguely expected this since the moment he had sat down so he did not react; he merely met Nott's eyes with a glare and waited for further explanation.

"I will let you free…" Nott started casually, flicking a finger absently over an image of Hermione which illustrated yet another article.

"On what conditions?" Draco asked, his glare narrowing.

"You join us," Nott answered, "after you've coaxed Granger to do the same."

Draco's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. If the situation had not been so serious he would have laughed.

"Why would _you_ want Granger?" he snarled, sitting forward. "_She's a Mudblood!_"

"Exactly," Nott shrugged with a cold grin. "We need followers and the more we can get the more invincible we'll be. Having a Mudblood by our sides would surely help persuade many in the wizarding world. She also happens to be a genius and Harry Potter's best friend so that could work to our advantage also. Besides, Pureblood and Dirty Blood is not a factor in our cause, Malfoy."

Draco was silent for a moment, scratching absently at his right forearm as images of this past threatened to surface and haunt him.

"What is your cause then?" Draco asked slowly after a moment, still considering Nott through narrowed eyes.

Nott chuckled slightly at that. "I'm not telling you until you agree to my offer, Malfoy."

"What if I don't agree?" Draco asked, sitting back in his chair but never taking his eyes off Nott for a second.

Nott considered the question. "Lifetime imprisonment," he said, "Though, we may make your life a lot shorter than it needs to be…"

Draco said nothing, anticipating something more from Nott.

"We'll also kill Granger, no questioned asked."

Draco stood suddenly at that, not quite understanding his reasoning himself.

"Take me back to my cell, Nott," he demanded, his teeth. "I'm not signing up for anything today."

Nott smirked up at him. "I'm giving you a week, Malfoy," he said lazily. "But the circumstances will not change. If you refuse, Granger is dead."

Draco had never thought that those words would affect him in the way they did at that moment. The lump in his throat, which had slowly disappeared since Nott had entered the office, reformed several times larger and his stomach clenched up.

He glared down at Nott as the Death Eater's smirk widened and a moment later he found his world went completely black, a low buzzing in his ears threatening to drown Nott's next words.

"I think we'll put you in a private cell until you've decided…"

And then Draco's world was blank.

* * *

**_Author Notes: I've had a nightmare of a week - my computer died and I only got it fixed today. I've managed the last few days by going to the library in my lunchbreak and writing a few drabbles but other than that I've been unable to do some decent writing of_ "When All Seems Dark"_ and "_Blind"_. But don't worry, the computer is fixed now and I plan to do some serious catching up!!_**

**_I've also realised that I haven't really been thanking my reviewers and I'm really sorry about that! I'm forever posting drabbles and I don't feel the need to add a thank you to them but as this is a chaptered fic with returning readers I DO feel the need and am sorry for my habit of NOT. _**

**_...SO..._**

**_Thank you to every one who has read and reviewed When All Seems Dark (and my other pieces, of course). Every piece of acknowledgement keeps me writing!_**

**_Cheers!_**


	8. Torture

**Chapter Eight**

It was with a great surge of pain that Draco regained consciousness.

He stood alone in a small dingy dungeon chamber which smelled distinctly like mold and stale urine. His hands were clasped behind his back and with a furious look behind him he found that he was chained to a tall metal pole that stood beside a wall.

"Nott!" He yelled irately to the cold air surrounding him. At that moment he wished nothing but death upon the man that put him here. He tried hopelessly to pull his hands free from the chain that bound them but with no luck; the chain merely dug further into his wrists and he gave a small grunt of pain.

* * *

Hermione paced up and down the left side of the cell, muttering darkly and thinking wildly for what had happened to Draco.

She could not work out whether Draco had somehow managed escape or been taken. However, all she had to go by was his sudden absence and the presence of two bowls of soup. Part of her believed that because there had been those two bowls, Draco himself had sought escape. However, with the patrolling guards and the wrath of the death eaters, she could not see him being successful.

The cell door squeaked slightly and she turned abruptly on the spot, half expecting to see the man of her thoughts. She was disappointed greatly when her eyes instead found Nott standing there with his wand raised and a shield between them.

"Where's Malfoy?" she demanded, taking a step towards the shield.

Nott just smiled and shrugged. "He's … _safe_."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, trying to comprehend exactly what he meant.

"You haven't killed him?" she whispered, hope filling her.

"I wouldn't think of it, Granger," Nott stated happily, his demeanor reminding Hermione of a man who was likely to bounce on the balls of his feet at any moment. "I've merely given him an offer that, in time, he'll find he can't refuse."

Hermione's eyes narrowed further. "What sort of offer?"

Nott gave a small chuckle. "Nothing you have to worry your little head about…" He took a few slow strides towards her, wand still raised between them. "Now Granger, in a moment I'm going to lower this little shield of mine. Can I trust that you won't misbehave?"

Hermione lifted her chin and crossed her arms defiantly. "I highly doubt you'll let me."

Nott grinned. "You have always been a quick learner," he drawled. "If you keep up the good work and I just might let you visit Draco…"

Hermione stood back against the wall as Nott lowered his shield.

"Now tell me, Granger," Nott demanded, his tone no longer light, "where is Potter hiding?"

Hermione's veins froze. It had felt like forever since they had last come to torture her specifically to find out answers. In a way, the reappearance of this question caused more hope to fill Hermione; it meant they hadn't found Harry yet; it meant that there was still the fleeting chance that he would come and get her out of this hell.

"He never told us," Hermione stated, her tone displaying false confidence but as she had anticipated the moment he had entered, she faintly heard the word _"Crucio"_ before she was lifted from the ground and overwhelmed with excruciating pain.

She writhed in agony for a moment, every drop of blood within her veins boiling and burning her from the inside out.

"I take that back," Nott hissed, taking another step forward. "You're not a quick learner at all, Granger. I will continue to do this until I get a _real_ answer…"

"But I don't know where he is!" Hermione whimpered, he nerves alive and still twitching slightly from the strain of the Cruciatus curse. "He never told us … for our safety…"

Nott laughed loudly and cruelly at that. "For your safety?" he chuckled. "Not doing you very good not knowing, is it?"

Hermione met Nott's eyes as he raised his wand once more.

"Where is Potter?" he asked slowly and carefully. "You must have some idea…?"

Hermione did not look away as she clenched her teeth and slowly and deliberately shook her head.

Nott growled angrily. "Crucio!"

Hermione's body writhed hopelessly once more as she fell to the floor and thrashed against the concrete floor but she tried desperately to keep her eyes open and watching his. With every ounce of concentration she could summon, she focused all her effort on fighting the curse and sending Nott away.

With a blink of her eye and a great flash of red she felt sudden relief as the curse was lifted before a moment later she was sent into a darkness that was becoming familiar to her.

* * *

Draco stopped struggling against his bindings long enough to hear the door to the chamber open. He looked around and growled at the sight of Nott, whose face was distorted in anger. As he came closer Draco was pleased to see blistering burns had begun to form around one eye where a large, swollen blue bruise was forming.

"One of the prisoners decide they didn't like you much, Nott?" Draco smirked. "That must have come as a surprise."

Nott raised his wand at him and started to circle him darkly.

"Nott, if you want to reenact the Dark Lord's death you're going to have to untie me and give me a wand," Draco drawled, following Nott's movement with his eyes. "Potter was hardly bound to a stripper pole when he did him over…"

Nott stopped right in front of him, wand still raised. "It wasn't just any prisoner that did this to me, Malfoy," he hissed threateningly.

Draco's heart stopped for just a moment, suddenly realizing what Nott might mean.

"It wasn't?"

"No," Nott bit out, his teeth clenched, "and I think you know who did it. And how they did it."

Draco was glad that he had mastered the disguising of his facial expressions and emotions long ago. He met Nott's eyes and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"As much I would love to know the person who did it … and _how_ they did," Draco drawled passively, "I think you're going to have to tell me."

"Granger." Nott's tone was full of anger and spite and he starred into Draco's eyes as though he was trying to read him. Thankfully, Draco had also mastered Occumency long ago.

"Granger?" Draco repeated. "And how might Granger have done this? She's a thin as a twig and last time I checked she wasn't keeping a wand hidden in that dress…"

Nott's wand was suddenly at Draco's neck. "Don't play stupid with me, Malfoy!" he warned angrily. "You know she can do Wandless magic! Though, I must say I am interested to know what would summon you _to check Granger's dress_…"

Draco raised an eyebrow but chose to ignore Nott's last comment.

"So Granger can do Wandless magic?" he asked casually. "Well that's just further reason for you to want her on your side isn't it?"

Nott remained still for a moment, considering this with a furrowed brow.

"I was going to just kill her but now that you make that suggestion…" Nott murmured, looking away from him and towards the left wall.

Draco felt some relief wash over him at his words.

"Have you come to a decision yet?" Nott asked suddenly, his tone suddenly light once more.

"I've only been conscious for a couple of hours, Nott," Draco sneered. "I've hardly had time to consider…"

Nott shrugged and flicked his wand, vanishing Draco's shirt and exposing his pale chest to the cool air that filled the room.

"I'm going to make your decision an easier one," Nott muttered darkly, leaning forward so his face was only inches from Draco's. "I will make you further and further uncomfortable with every passing hour. It starts with me taking your shirt, next I will take your pants and so on and so forth until I have to resort to inflicting pain both mentally and physically. The sooner you say yes to the offer, the sooner I will stop. Is that understood?"

Draco glared intensely into Nott's eyes for a moment, the cold air almost stinging his chest. "Completely," he snarled.

Nott nodded once in satisfaction and turned on his heel.

"You might by pleased to know we captured Shacklebolt today, too," Nott called over his shoulder and as soon as Nott was out of sight behind the closed door Draco fell back against the pole.

If they had captured the Minister for Magic then things were worse than he originally thought. Not even the prospect of one day escaping this hell could raise his spirits at that moment for all seemed dark on the outside as well.

* * *

**_Author Notes: My computer died again (usually a sign that I need a new one) so I'm on the work computer right now (naughty me) posting this chapter. I'm getting a new laptop sometime later this week so more chapters of this and "Blind" (and more drabbles of course) aren't too far away. In the meantime, I'm comtemplating what I might write after I've finished my current works-in-progress so if you want to give some input, check out the poll on my profile page and please vote - your opinion means everything to me!_**

_**Thanks to my readers and reviewers - i really hope you're enjoying this and your feedback is always more than welcome! Oh and by the way, I've got plans for some serious Dramione action in a few chapters time if you're wondering when SOMETHING might just happen! Oh and ladies, Draco stars naked in the next chapter so wear light clothing and have a mop ready for the drool!**_


	9. More Questions

**Chapter Nine**

The cold hit Draco's bare chest like knives as the chamber grew colder and darker around him. He shivered slightly and winced, the slight movement causing the chain that bound his wrists to dig in deeper.

Hours had passed since Nott had disappeared and despite his threat, he had not yet returned to remove more of Draco's clothing or torture him endlessly. He anticipated that it would be soon, that obviously something else was keeping Nott from his word.

The Nott Draco grew up with at Hogwarts never turned on his word.

Draco spat bitterly onto the floor, his mouth dry and thirsty. Not would surely appear soon.

Just as Draco closed his eyes to concentrate on something else he heard the lock in the door click and he looked up at it abruptly. Nott was smirking broadly as he entered, looking at nothing but Draco, whose eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.

"Have you been waiting for me with battered breath, Malfoy?" he asked. "It's a horrible feeling – waiting. It's even worse when you have nothing to think about but what might happen when the waiting ends."

Draco did not respond immediately. He felt it was no use retaliating. His situation could only grow worse.

"Just do your worst, Nott," he said.

Nott looked around the chamber and gave a fake shiver.

"Rather chilly in here, isn't it…" he drawled. "I heard snow isn't far away…"

He gave a dramatic flick of his wand and the entire of Draco's body was suddenly exposed to the cool of the air. Draco struggled for a moment against the chain, his instincts wanting to shield his lower region from Nott's eyes.

"Pansy never was lying, was she?" Nott smirked, an eyebrow lifted.

"Don't stare at it like that, Nott," Draco snarled. "I might be forced to question your sexuality!"

Nott's face hardened and he walked forward threateningly; his wand was still raised and with a single, wordless wave, Draco felt a strike of boiling heat against the skin on his chest, followed immediately by the horrible sensation of blisters quickly forming.

He grimaced at the feeling but not once did he look away from Nott's cold eyes.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Nott," Draco sneered, summoning some courage and once again fighting against the bindings. "That will heal in no time."

"Where is all this courage coming from, Malfoy?" Nott smirked. "Just a few years ago you were quivering in fright, worried that your life will end at any minute…"

Draco said nothing. He merely scowled and once again attempted to free his hands of the painful chain.

"How is standing here having this friendly little chat with me any different from having Lord Voldemort living in your manor?" Nott asked.

Draco decided not to answer that for the answer seemed quite obvious to him: he was not scared of Nott. Despite the fact that he was chained up, without a wand or even clothes did not illuminate the fact that for seven years of his life he had seen Nott as the outsider of the Slytherin group; he did not have any extraordinary talent, nor did he appear to be the type of man who would easily kill if he didn't get what he wanted.

"You do not know what I am capable of," Nott continued and for a moment Draco suspected that maybe he was reading his thoughts. "I will kill Granger if you do not join us and I will make your stay here extremely painful if you say no."

"Why threaten to kill Granger?" Draco questioned snidely. "Why not threaten to kill my father, or my mother? Why didn't you keep Astoria alive long enough to use her? Why use Granger?"

Nott leaned back on the heels of his feet, considering him for a moment. "Because Goyle let me in on a little secret," he smirked, pacing in front of Draco now. "Granger saved your life."

"It was Potter, actually," Draco snarled.

"But Granger was there," Nott stated. "Granger didn't tell Potter to leave without you. You owe every single one of the Golden Trio your life. If ever there was a chance to pay them all back, keeping Granger alive would suffice."

For a moment Draco had to admire Nott's logic but I did not last long because suddenly Nott's wand was at his throat.

"I've also noticed that maybe you enjoyed having Granger for company in that cell," he sneered vehemently. "You started working together co-operatively; you were even beginning to talk somewhat civilly. It made us worried, that if such a short period of time allowed for this to happen, perhaps we should separate you and use it to our advantage. I think this very conversation between us now is proving the advantages…"

Draco considered Nott through a poisonous glare. "If I join you and try to persuade Granger to your side what's to say you won't just use her to your advantage only until she's no longer of use and then kill her?" he asked calmly. "I don't care how far you go about torturing me into saying yes but I will not say yes until I know all the details."

"What details do you want?" Nott sneered. "You know we only want you at this stage to persuade Granger to our side and you know why we want her… So, what details do you want?"

"I could persuade Granger in a week!" Draco drawled. "What happens after that? Will I become one of your guards or one of the men who do the capturing? Will I have to kill people and torture others? What will my role be?"

Nott did not answer him. He turned on the spot and made towards the door, away from Draco, who struggled and growled in his direction.

"It will take longer than a week to persuade Granger," Nott said firmly. "But don't worry; we're feeding her the first of her birth control today. You know, just in case you have to do anything drastic…"

Draco stopped struggling the moment Nott disappeared through the door, his thoughts turning to Hermione and what she might think and fear when they start force-feeding her contraception potion. Draco was concerned as he was sure, after seeing many of the occupants of the cells during his 'escape', that many of the women had been sexually abused during their stay; Hermione herself had even hinted at knowing some had.

Draco looked down at his naked figure, taking in the long line of blisters that had appeared along his rib line. His nipples stood in hard peaks against the chill and his lower region was covered in goosebumps. Draco deeply hoped that they did not bring Hermione to visit him while he stood chained in all his glory.

Draco groaned and struggled for several moments as he tried to find his way into a sitting position. When he achieved the difficult feat, he curled his legs up in front of him in an attempt to gain some warmth. He shivered for what felt like hours, trying hard to concentrate on things that helped him forget the cold rather than everythin Nott had and hadn't told him.

Eventually he grew tired and proceeded to awkwardly make his way into a laying down position where

"He wants to know what we have in plan for him," a voice was saying directly outside the cell Hermione was sitting in, though she could not see them or instantly recognize the voice. "He says he won't give in until he knows."

"It's Draco," another voice said and Hermione again did not recognize it. "He's always had a need to know what's going to happen when he's the main one involved!"

Hermione snorted. "Wouldn't anyone?" she asked, before slapping a hand over her face and holding her breath.

The men were silent for a moment.

"Is that her?" the second voice asked and he came to the cell door, staring in on her.

Hermione retreated a little when Blaise Zabini's dark face appeared.

"What makes you think Draco would want to help her?" Blaise asked, not taking his eyes from her. "She's Mudblood Granger; they've hated each other since they met."

"He wants to help," Nott said. "I can tell. Davis thinks my plan is a brilliant one."

"Davis never had many brains," Blaise sneered, while a third man, and this time Hermione recognized it, chuckled deeply.

_Gregory Goyle._

She approached the cell door hesitantly and looked out at them. Three men, all of whom she had gone to school with, stood in a circle beside the wall. None of them were older than her, nor did they at that moment appear to be threatening. It was almost as though they were merely having a chat about their old classmate as though planning the most appropriate opening to his bachelor party.

Nott noticed her and stared at her a while as though trying to read her, however, Hermione had the distinct impression he was planning his next strategy.

"I've got a plan," he said, not looking away from her, and confirming her suspicion. "Davis is going to love it!" With that he dashed away, leaving Blaise and Goyle alone.

"I still can't believe he killed Astoria…" Blaise muttered to Goyle, staring after Nott.

As Goyle grunted in reply and made to move off, Hermione backed against the wall and felt a single tear fall from her eye.

She had not known Astoria but knowing she was dead, even after Draco sent her into hiding, caused her to wonder about all the other people who were hiding, thinking they might be safe when they would never be until these Death Eaters, these bringers of terror, were banished.

She thought of Harry and all of the Weasleys and all the other people she had worked and went to school with. How was it that she could feel safer in this prison then she could if she were outside?

Hermione thought back to what Blaise had said and frowned.

"_What makes you think Draco would want to help her?"_

They had been talking about her; they had Draco and they had put her life down as a bargaining point. Normally it would anger her that any one would do this but at that moment all she could do was pray that Draco did not do anything terrible merely for her life.

"_I still can't believe he killed Astoria…"_

Did Draco know the he no longer had a wedding to attend if they escaped? Did Draco know that Nott was even capable of killing? And that the man he had entrusted with Astoria's life, the man who he had sent her into hiding with, was now betraying him and on the side they were trying to hide from?

Hermione's throat clenched up and she sobbed, both for herself out of hopelessness and for Draco, wherever he was.


End file.
